Anyway, I can relate to this song because I can be kind of slow sometimes.

One
of the first times I realized this was in the fifth grade. I had
been called to the administrative office along with a few other kids.
Apparently we had all been out sick the day they gave one of those
standardized tests and this was the day for the make
up test.

I had no idea this would be happening
and felt very anxious as I sat there with my no. 2 pencil, reading
the instructions on the first page of the test booklet. I had to
read them a couple times before the meaning of the words registered
as my mind kept trying to drift away. I had to read some of the
questions more than once too.

We were told that when we were finished
with the test we should just put down our pencil and then go back to
class. I was barely halfway finished when the first one of my
classmates did this. Every few minutes after that another one would
leave until I was the only one left. I looked up at the Vice
Principal who was supervising this test from a desk beneath a loudly
ticking clock on the wall.

“You still have plenty of time.” He
said in a kind and patient tone.

This calmed me and became my mantra as
I willed myself to focus and complete the test. When I got back to
class I imagined the other students who had taken the test that day
were thinking I must be really dumb to have taken so much longer than
them but no one said anything.

Some time later, after I had all but
forgotten about this incident, I got called to the Vice Principal's
office. He'd wanted to tell me in person that I got a high
score on the test. He said I should be proud of myself for taking my
time and not rushing through the test like the other students did
that day. He told me I should always remember that doing something
well is better than doing it fast.

Of course I don't always remember that. There have been a lot of times since then that I have forgotten the value of patience and become frustrated with myself for taking so freaking long to get things done sometimes.

Then something like a song will remind me that this is just my process. That I'm slow because I'm taking the time to really figure things out or I'm trying something I've never done before or I'm just not willing to settle for a result that is less than what I envisioned.

This might be why it has taking me more than eleven years to get my living room the way I wanted it (click here to see and read about it on The Cabbage Blog). And it is definitely why I've decided that my recent plan to blog three times per week was a tad unrealistic for me.